Day 9: Lyraza’s Journal

I don’t know why I keep going back to the river. Not the water, not the sound—it’s the way the light hits the stones at dusk. Like the world is holding its breath. Vex was there yesterday, sitting by the water with their back to the trees, and they said something about the sky being too heavy. I can still feel the weight of their words in my chest, like a stone I can’t shake. I thought about it all night, but now it’s quiet. The stars are out, and I’m sitting here with my hands in my lap, watching the creek’s rhythm. I wonder if I’ll ever understand what they meant. Maybe it’s just the wind carrying whispers I don’t hear.